TV option deal for Nugent’s electric coming-of-age debut
Marc Simonsson of SoloSon Media Limited and The Liverpool Literary Agency (LLA) have negotiated a TV option deal (the first for the LLA) for Ashleigh Nugent’s Locks (Picador) with Royal Television Society award-winning and BAFTA-nominated producers, 2LE Media. Debut author, Nugent, will also have roles as a writer and Executive Producer on the series.
Tom Thostrup 2LE Media co-founder and managing director said:
“We’re thrilled to be working with Ashleigh to develop Locks for television. From ten pages in we were hooked and knew we wanted to make it, so we are delighted and honoured that he has chosen us to help bring his remarkable story to the screen.”
Ashleigh Nugent added:
”Even when I was in that dungeon in Jamaican, I knew that, as long as I survived, this story would be my first book. Ever since, whenever I tell the story, people always say, "That should be on TV". So, after all these years, it has been so exciting for me to have production companies approaching me to discuss how we get this made. And the reason I chose 2LE is because I could feel their genuine passion for the story, their understanding of my approach, and their urgency to get the message of 'LOCKS' to a wider audience.”Ashleigh was the first black male writer from Liverpool to have a traditional book deal in his genre.
The synopsis explains:
Aeon, a mixed-up and mixed-race teenager from a leafy Liverpool suburb, is desperate to understand the Black identity thrust upon him. He grows dreadlocks and immerses himself in ‘gangsta’ rap. But Aeon’s journey of self-discovery is hampered by the fact that the only Black people in his life are his dad and his cousin, Increase.
Aeon’s ambition to find his place in the world takes him to Jamaica. Here, Aeon soon finds that smoking loads of weed, growing messy locks and wearing massive red boots don’t necessarily help him to fit in. Within days of his arrival he is mugged, arrested and banged up in a Jamaican detention centre. Seen as the ‘White boy’, he finds that his journey of self-discovery has only just begun - and he’s going to have to fight for the respect and recognition he deserves . . .
A coming-of-age comedy of errors, Locks is an electric debut novel about growing up, wising up, and finding your place in a world of opposites.
Order Locks now https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/ashleigh-nugent/locks/9781529097894
Broadcast Now coverage - https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/indies/2le-media-to-adapt-coming-of-age-novel-locks/5184715.article
Author Ashleigh Nugent